When it comes to office suites there are enough choices for Linux users out there, like the KDE-based Calligra or Kingsoft Office, but probably the most popular suite remains LibreOffice. The major features of LibreOffice 4.3 were major OOXML graphics improvements, inserting comments on margins of documents and importing or exporting nested comments in ODF, DOC, OOXML and RTF files, animated 3D models in Impress (the presentation component), and more intuitive handling of Calc, the spreadsheet application.

The number of bug fixes that went into this release is rather big. These include several fixes to the OOXML import function, several crashes were fixed, and several ODF improvements.

LibreOffice Calc allows you to create spreadsheets and charts:

LibreOffice is a free, open-source office suite with a complete range of applications for the office: Writer, for word processing, Calc, for creating spreadsheets and charts, Impress, for creating presentations, Draw, for drawing, Math, for mathematical formulas, and Base, for handling databases.

Install LibreOffice in Ubuntu 14.04 and 14.10

The PPA currently contains LibreOffice 4.3.3 RC2. To install it, type the following in a terminal:

]]>http://www.tuxarena.com/2014/10/install-libreoffice-4-3-3-in-ubuntu-14-04-and-14-10/feed/44 Spreadsheet Alternatives to MS Excelhttp://www.tuxarena.com/2014/04/4-spreadsheet-alternatives-to-ms-excel/
http://www.tuxarena.com/2014/04/4-spreadsheet-alternatives-to-ms-excel/#commentsSat, 05 Apr 2014 19:12:31 +0000http://www.tuxarena.com/?p=3700There was a time when office compatibility was a bit of a problem on Linux, but with the latest office suites out there available for Linux, this is not an issue anymore. The applications here mimic MS Excel’s behavior, so switching to one of them should be pretty straightforward. Exporting and importing to and from MS Excel format works as well, and there aren’t many compatibility issues – however, the native format these programs use is the OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS) format.

LibreOffice Calc
This is the spreadsheet application which comes with the powerful LibreOffice suite. This seems to be the most feature-rich and powerful spreadsheet application for Linux. It has support for formulas, charts, text/cell formatting, inserting images, macros, exporting/importing files from MS Excel, saving to OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS) format, PDF export function, powerful configuration options.

Calligra SheetsSheets is included in the KDE office suite, Calligra, with support for charts, text and cell formatting, support for functions. Calligra 1.8 has been released just a few weeks ago, with a new interface and lots of changes, including Sheets.

GnumericGnumeric is the GNOME spreadsheet application, with rich features. I like Gnumeric a lot because it offers a consistent interface, highlighting the column letter and row number. Gnumeric has support for charts, inserting images, and a very comprehensive help system with examples on how to accomplish various tasks. Gnumeric is a very good alternative to MS Excel if you’re already used to it, but also a great tool for learning on how to start-up creating and working with spreadsheets. Although it can save as ODS (OpenDocument Spreadsheet) format, it doesn’t seem to be able to import charts from files created with other spreadsheet applications (for example Calligra Sheets).

Google Drive Spreadsheet
This is a cloud service provided by Google, so you can access from your web browser it if you have a Google account. Google offers 15 GB of free storage shared between all of its services (including GMail, Photos, or Blogger). The Google Drive Spreadsheet application saves changes instantly, can export your documents as OpenDocument or MS Excel, has support for charts, formulas and many other tools. The interface it’s built in is pretty fast too, so you can give it a try if you haven’t yet. Besides, it saves the files automatically on the cloud server, meaning you can synchronize and access them from everywhere as long as you have an Internet connection.

Depending on what your needs are, you can use any of them. LibreOffice Calc seems to be the most powerful, while Calligra Sheets and Gnumeric blend well in their respective desktop environments (KDE and GNOME), while for Google’s Spreadsheet you only need a web browser.

Do you know of any other notable spreadsheet applications? Please share them with us in the comments below.

]]>http://www.tuxarena.com/2014/04/4-spreadsheet-alternatives-to-ms-excel/feed/1310 Free, Open-Source Replacements for Commercial Toolshttp://www.tuxarena.com/2014/03/10-free-open-source-replacements-for-commercial-tools/
http://www.tuxarena.com/2014/03/10-free-open-source-replacements-for-commercial-tools/#commentsSun, 30 Mar 2014 13:21:05 +0000http://www.tuxarena.com/?p=1915This is an overview providing 10 Linux open-source replacements for various commercial power tools, most of them available only on Windows.

Computer-Aided Design: AutoCAD
Replacement: QCAD
It’s true, QCAD has some paid plug-ins, but they can be removed very easy and QCAD will offer most of AutoCAD’s features in a similar fashion, but with an interface that is maybe 10 times faster. The good thing about QCAD is that those who are used to AutoCAD can make the transition pretty easily, since QCAD has similar syntax for commands, and similar menu entries.

Image Editor: Photoshop
Replacements: GIMP and Krita
Both GIMP and Krita are powerful image manipulation tools, the first one being written in GTK, while Krita integrates better in KDE. These applications comes with support for layers, powerful editing tools, saving or exporting to a huge number of formats, visual effects, filters. Lately Krita is getting a lot of attention, with new releases on a regular basis and work to include it in Steam as a free download.

Office Suite – MS Office
Replacement: LibreOfficeLibreOffice is the powerful office suite included in all the big distributions out there. It comes with word processor, presentation and spreadsheet applications. If you want something for KDE, you can try Calligra Suite as well.

Virtualization Software – VMWare Workstation
Replacement: QEMUQEMU is a free virtualization application which allows you to try various operating systems in your running environment, without the need to reboot the computer.

Geographic Information System – ArcGIS
Replacement: QGISQGIS is a decent replacement to the geographic application ArcGIS.

3D Graphics – 3ds Max
Replacement: BlenderBlender is a free, powerful 3D modeling application with lots of features, which was used to create some sound projects, including Big Buck Bunny.

Web Browser – Internet Explorer
Replacement: FirefoxFirefox is the popular web browser, with a very powerful, modern web rendering engine, support for tabs, add-ons, themes, developer tools, plug-ins, powerful address bar, history management and not only.

CD/DVD Burning Application – Nero
Replacement: K3bK3b is a good CD/DVD burner and ISO image creator, which fits well in KDE.

]]>http://www.tuxarena.com/2014/03/10-free-open-source-replacements-for-commercial-tools/feed/1LibreOffice 4.0 Available for Ubuntu 12.10 and 12.04, Using Firefox Personashttp://www.tuxarena.com/2013/03/libreoffice-4-0-available-for-ubuntu-12-10-and-12-04-using-firefox-personas/
http://www.tuxarena.com/2013/03/libreoffice-4-0-available-for-ubuntu-12-10-and-12-04-using-firefox-personas/#commentsMon, 04 Mar 2013 16:12:09 +0000http://www.tuxarena.com/?p=2264LibreOffice 4.0 Final is now available via the LibreOffice PPA. To install it in Ubuntu 12.04 or 12.10, follow the instructions below:

Open up LibreOffice and go to Tools->Options->Personalization. Click the Select Persona button, and in the Persona address field, enter the link to the desired Firefox Persona (e.g. this example uses http://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/462094).